The Regional District of Central Kootenay is celebrating BC Water Week, which runs through Saturday, by commissioning a mural that illustrates the importance of water.
The RDCK invited a visual arts class from L.V. Rogers to design a regional focused water conservation-themed mural for a large metal storage container located at the RDCK’s head office at 202 Lakeside Drive. This sea-can is used to store a wide range of equipment and supplies used in the daily management of the 19 RDCK-owned water systems.
“The students spent a significant amount of time brainstorming and considering what clean, reliable drinking water meant to them,” said Catherine McIntosh, acting LVR visual arts teacher. “At the end of this process, they came up with four separate images: two that depict all that we are grateful for and celebrate our natural resources, and two which carry strong messages that challenge us to think further about the issues we face — that unless we take care of our water sources and our environment and stop consuming and polluting at the rate we do, our world will suffer and we may lose our precious resource — fresh clean water. The work the students have created and their powerful ecological warnings give me confidence in a new generation who will drive change and fight for conservation.”
“The project aims to raise awareness of the value of water and the importance of our investment in water systems to protect our health, environment and quality of life,” says Uli Wolf, the general manager of environmental services for the RDCK. “Water doesn’t wondrously appear and disappear. We all depend on water systems to deliver clean water to our taps.”
Wolf adds that while water is provided by nature, there is a real cost for the pipes, pumps, equipment, and people who ensure it is safely delivered to our taps and returned to the environment. “When we pay our water and sewer bill, we are supporting these essential systems that keep us clean and healthy.”
Check rdck.ca as well as the RDCK's Facebook page for further updates and photos of the students painting and of the completed murals.